The new parents from Co. Limerick in Ireland are set for happy Christmas chaos with their four seven-month-old babies after four painful years of trying to start a family
A couple whose lives had been torn apart by four devastating miscarriages will be wading through nappies this Christmas with their “miracle" quadruplets.
Grace Slattery, 32, and her husband, James, 33, had been trying for four years to start a family but after Grace suffered four miscarriages in a row, the couple had given up on their dreams of starting a family.
The couple from Co. Limerick, Ireland, could not face the gruelling prospect of IVF after the pain of the earlier pregnancies.
Grace said: "We call them our fantastic four. We cannot believe our babies are seven months old now- time flies and we are so looking forward to their first Christmas.
"Friends and family have been showering them with presents already- they have a Christmas songs CD which they love and helps to calm them down."
"The babies are our Christmas miracles- we are blessed.
"Just when we thought we couldn't go through any more and we were ready to give up we received the best news ever.
"I really want to encourage other women to keep trying because if we gave up we wouldn't have the babies we do now."
The couple's daughters Amelia Helen, Mollie Rose, Lily-Grace May, and son, Lucas James will enjoy their first experience of sitting by the Christmas tree and opening presents, as their doting parents Grace and James are kept busy this Christmas.
Grace said: "We are going to my parents for Christmas dinner so we can actually all sit down and enjoy it. Otherwise, James and I would be so busy with all the babies we would probably end up having Christmas dinner really late, in front of the tv.
"We want this Christmas to be magical- as we are so grateful to have all of our babies with us."
And amazingly little Amelia is a double miracle as the couple were told once she was born she would only last a few hours due to being diagnosed with a congential diaphragmatic hernia- which caused her organs to move into the wrong place.
Grace said: "We were told that if Amelia was born too small no surgeon would operate on her and due to her hernia, her heart was in the wrong place and lungs weren't properly developed."
Thankfully, at 4lbs 3oz Amelia was the biggest of the bunch and she had life-saving surgery as soon as she was born.
Grace said: "We are so thankful to the Crumlin Children's Hospital for saving our little girl's life, she has regular check -ups but has been a little fighter from the word go- when she bit the doctor in the hospital!"
Doting Grace and James had almost given up hope of having the family they always dreamed of.
Grace said: "When we went for the babies' first scan we thought we'd lost another baby.
"But we were given amazing news that we were definitely pregnant, everything was well and we were actually having quads.
"We left with mixed emotions as we were essentially told not to hold our breath, as quads usually don't survive."
The couple were told to not get their hopes up at every appointment for the next 26 weeks, until the babies were born the day before Grace was due to have a C-section at 32 weeks and six days.
Amelia Helen was the heaviest at 4lbs 3oz, and Mollie Rose was the smallest weighing 2lbs 15oz.
Their brother Lucas James was born weighing 3lbs 10oz and sister Lily- Grace May weighed 3lbs 4oz.
Grace said: "We are so glad our babies survived. We are delighted with our four healthy and happy little miracles. I never let myself dream this could happen.
The quads, who were born in May this year, get through 35 nappies a day and certainly have childminder Grace and insulation consultant James rushed off their feet.
Grace said: "The babies are eating three meals a day now plus two bottles and are certainly keeping us busy. I worked as a child minder for years but nothing could have prepared me for this.
"It's hard work but it is so worth it to see our healthy, happy children.
"I can't wait to see their faces when they open their Micky Mouse teddies on Christmas day- they are mad for Disney."
